January may be two-thirds of the way over but that doesn’t mean it’s too late for my favorite part of the new year: creative goal setting!

Last year I decided to try something new: a list of 14 goals to complete in 2014.

I loved it.

For me, it was similar to setting a list of birthday goals but as my husband Adam likes to remind me, now that I’m in my 30s, birthday goal lists tied to my age aren’t terribly practical. So this seemed like the best of both worlds: a finite number of goals to strive for AND a number that seemed more doable.

14 in 2014: The Completed List

2014 was the first year I tried this goal setting system. Was it a success? Well, here’s what I completed in 2014 (and yes I used a blue highlighter to mark them off as I went. I’m nothing is not high-tech.):

FINISH ADVENT CALENDAR: Done with time to sew a Christmas stocking for Ryan.

LAUNCH KICKASS SCRAPBOOKING:DONE as of last March although I’ll likely be making some changes to do this – more details to come in a future post.

MAKE A BABY QUILT: Done although we primarily use it for photo shoots since Ryan is only just now growing out of the “spit up on everything” phase.

GO ON A BABY MOON : Our babymoon to Dallas for the Rangers Opening Day was so fun!

ORGANIZE DIGITAL PHOTOS: Not done by choice. After Apple announced the end of Aperture, I decided to hold off to see what they have in store first.

TURN MASTER BEDROOM INTO A COZY SPACE: 50% done. We painted an accent wall and I’ve chosen all the art – just need to get around to finally hanging it up.

MAKE ART FOR OVER THE TV: Done although I’m not 100% in love with it.

DECORATE OFFICE/NURSERY FOR THE LIL’ DUDE’S ARRIVAL: Done and the camping themed nursery turned out adorable.

HAVE A BABY. : ) Not only done but somehow he’s 7 months already!

CREATE PROJECT LIFE 6/6: Not done but with being pregnant the first six months of the year and a newborn the last half, I’m not sure this was a terribly practical goal to begin with.

SCRAP 100 LAYOUTS: 38/100. Not even close. But considering pregnancy killed my creativity and I didn’t even open my computer the first three months after Ryan was born, I figure I’m lucky I finished that many. Hopefully 2015 will be better.

READ 10 BOOKS: 10/10. So done, but only just barely. This one ended up being surprisingly more difficult than I expected. I’m hoping I can make it to 25 this year.

LEARN TO USE MY SILHOUETTE: Not done. I’d planned to do this as part of my Holiday Faves mini album but when I pulled off the cover I realized I had no clue where the cords for it were. Hoping to find them and revisit it later this year.

So in total: 10/14 which I’m thrilled about! That’s more than I thought I’d accomplish when I made the list at the start of 2014.

My list was heavily baby-weighted and the tasks I completed are as well but honestly, I’m cool with that because 2014 was pretty much the year of the baby. Hopefully this year will see the return of more creative adventures.

MY 15 IN 2015 LIST

So what do I have planned in 2015? Well here’s a look at my 15 in 2015 list:

Go hiking as a family

Find my photo style

Do something creative for 30 days

Make one Friday a month FUN day

Take Ryan on his first camping trip

Lose baby weight for wedding

Stay positive during move : )

Print more photos

Reorganize my scrapbook albums

Send birthday gifts & cards early

Try knitting

Scrap a travel album

Print & cut with my Silhouette (assuming I can find the cords!)

Plan an at home date night

Read 25 books

As you see my list is a mix of personal and creative goals. The breakdown of it looks something like this:

Family (5)

Personal (3)

Creative (3)

Scrapbooking (4)

To me, that’s a pretty good mix. You may notice that I don’t have any business-related goals in my list and that’s because I decided to keep my 15 in 2015 for personal/creative goal-setting instead – you know, the fun stuff. I have a separate system I use for business-related goals.

Tips For Creating Your Own 15 in 2015 List

If you’re interested in doing your own 15 in 2015 goal-setting this year, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Tip #1 | Your list should match your priorities: Take some time to really think about what you want to focus on in 2015 and how those goals will fit into your everyday life. Keep in mind that not right now doesn’t have to mean not ever. Save it for a year when it’s a better fit.

Last year I weighted my list heavily toward home & baby-related items because with our first baby arriving mid-year, it was simply where my mind and momentum was at at the time.

15 goals is plenty and in my experience those ongoing goals are the momentum killers – they hang over your head reminding you all year long of your failure, which is most definitely what we don’t want!

I have one on my list this year (Make one Friday a month FUN day) but it’s both fun AND doable so I’m ok with giving it a go.

Tip #3 | Wants work better than shoulds: We all have those things are our mental to-do lists that we feel like we should do. You’ll recognize them because during your brainstorm because your thought process will go something like “Well, I really should do {insert uninspiring and unexciting goal here}.” For example, “Well, I really should learn to use my Silhouette because I’ve had it two years and it’s currently collecting dust on my desk.”

I can tell you from experience the four goals I didn’t complete last year all fell into the “well I sort of want to do it but more I really should do it” category…which is exactly why they didn’t get done.

While I won’t tell you to avoid these goals completely because sometimes the key to a should getting done is to add it to your list, I would be careful adding too many to your list. You want to be excited and inspired by your list, not reminded of all the things you should do.

Tip #4 | Making your list visible is the key to success: The best thing I did last year, and no doubt the reason for my success, was I printed out a small 4×6-inch card of my 14 in 2014 goals list and tucked it into the pocket of my wall calendar. Every time I walked into my office there it would be, sometimes inspiring me, sometimes mocking me, but always reminding me that “oh yeah, THAT’s what I planned to do this year.”

Free 15 in 2015 Goal Setting Printable

If you’re a creative like me, odds are out of sight=out of mind for you too. So to make making your list easy for you, I’ve put together a free printable 4×6-inch card you can use to keep your list visible all year long.

The download includes 5 files in a single zip file: a layered Photoshop (.PSD) file with an editable text box for adding your list (title is not editable) and two printable PDFs (one with numbers and one without) that you can use to handwrite your list.

Since the PDFs are 8.5×11 but the card is intended to be 4×6-inches, both PDFs include crop marks so you know where to trim. But I also included two crop mark free versions in case crop marks scare you and you’d rather guess where to trim or leave your list floating on an 8.5×11 sheet of paper. That works too.

Holy cow, can you believe we only have two months left of 2014? I’m kind of in shock at how fast 2014 has flown by. I guess having a baby mid-way through the year will do that to you, huh?

The second half of this year has definitely been an exercise in patience for me as I’ve tried to learn how to balance running a business and being a mom with a husband with a demanding job that involves regular travel. It hasn’t been an easy transition by far and there are times when I’ve been frustrated with myself for not doing more before the baby got here to make sure I’d be in a better place now. But I guess that’s how life goes sometimes.

What I do know is the days/weeks/months when I stop and take a second to write out my goals and tasks go a lot smoother. Sometimes it’s a few notes scribbled on a post-it, sometimes it’s a list in my planner and other times it’s simply a “To Done” list to remind me on those bad days that, hey I actually did get quite a lot done today, even if it wasn’t what I was hoping to do.

The key here is not that the process is fancy or involved, but simply that the act of writing out my goals a) cements them in my mind and makes them visible to me and b) forces me to prioritize and be honest about how much I can actually get done. If you have a tendency to take on too much like I do, part B is key!

Since we’re nearing the end of 2014 and with that comes another round of new-year goal setting, I thought it would be fun to start sharing my goals each month with you. For this purpose, I’m primarily going to focus on my creative/business goals rather than the less-fun home goals like “update the budget” and “keep our two bedroom apartment from looking like a disaster zone.” Some of these goals will be tied to my 14 in 2014 list which I’m still chugging along on and others will simply be new goals that have come up as time has gone on.

So with that bit of backstory, here are my creative goals for November 2014:

1) Launch another round of Holiday Faves: Yes, Holiday Faves is returning! Holiday Faves is my take on a holiday album and is hands down one of my favorite scrapbooking projects I do all year. Last year with being in my first trimester of pregnancy and having a baby vampire sucking all my energy, I didn’t get past putting the foundation of my album together, but this year I am raring and ready to capture our first Christmas as a family of three.

I will be releasing a NEW set of mini album templates specifically for this so stay tuned for those this month.

2) Make and send Ryan’s birth announcements (and thank you cards): I’m a little ashamed to still have this on my list considering our little guy will be five months on the 15th (say what?!) so I say it’s high time I got these done. I have a design in mind and the photos taken, just need to put it all together, gather addresses (ugh) and send it all out. We also owe all the nice people who sent us gift thank you cards so I’m going to be getting on that asap.

3) Finish my 2014 Week in the Life album: Photos has been taken and a design is in place so it’s just a matter of putting everything together. More details of my album to come but if you’re looking for templates, all three of my previous photo book template sets are now available in the shop.

4) Hang art work in the master bedroom and office: Numbers 7 & 9 on my 14 in 2014 list are to decorate our master bedroom and office/nursery. The nursery side of the office is all done but both the master bedroom and the office still need a little tweaking and some art work. I’ve got all the art work ordered and framed so it’s really just hanging it all up which should be fairly easy.

And those are my top creative goals for November! I’m sure there will be a few more to-dos and must-dos added to my list behind the scenes but these are the four goals that when I look back at the end of the month and have all four checked off, I’ll be able to be like, “yeah, I did awesome this month.” And isn’t that the point of goal-setting in the first place?

Now, what about you: what do you have cooking creatively this month? Share it with me in the comments below or over on the Nettio Designs Facebook page.

P.S. I’m currently doing a bit of research around the idea of creative goal setting and would love to know:What do you find challenging when it comes to setting creative goals?
Leave a comment below or send me an email to share your thoughts!

If you’ve been around Nettio Designs for awhile, you’ll know that I’m no stranger to goal-setting.

Now goal finishing?

That’s a whole different story.

But even when I don’t complete the ambitious goals I set out to accomplish, like my 28 at 28 list or my 30 Creative Adventures, I find that just the act of setting those goals in the first place pushes me to get more done than I would have without setting those goals at all.

So when the beginning of 2014 rolled around, I started thinking about what I wanted to accomplish this year and how I wanted to do it. Did I want to set another One Little Word? Resolutions? 2014 monthly goals?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this year I wanted to keep things simple and actionable. As much as I love the idea of One Little Word, it can sometimes seem so abstract.

So instead I decided on creating a simple 14 in 2014 list: 14 random things I’d like to be able to check off at the end of year. Since we’re expecting a mid-year arrival for our little dude, it’s a little baby-heavy but it’s also a mix of life, work, home design and scrapbooking goals which I love.

Since we’re a few months into 2014, I thought it’d be fun to share the progress I’ve made on my list so far. It’s still very much a work-in-progress but so far it’s turning out to be motivating me to take action much more so than other things I’ve done in the past. I think perhaps because everything on the list is more project based?

Here’s where I’m at as of March 5, 2014. Blue is In Progress and Green & crossed off is Done:

Finish Advent Calendar: This is a sewing project I’ve been working on for TWO Christmases now and it’s so close to being done, I can taste it. I’m making myself finish this before tackling any of the other “fun” items on my list.

Make a baby quilt: I’m waiting to officially start this until after I’ve checked off #1 but you can see the fabric I bought for it in this post.

Go on a baby moon: We’re keeping it simple but plans are in the works.

Organize digital photos

Turn master bedroom into a cozy space: Hoping to check this off this month, just have to convince Adam to do a little painting for me.

Make art for over the TV

Decorate office/nursery for the lil’ dude’s arrival: Mostly just plans & pins at this point but I’m excited to get started.

Have a baby. : ) Very much in progress, haha. Just over 100 days to go!

Create Project Life 6/6

Scrap 100 layouts: 7/100. This is an item that’s been on my list for oh, 8 years now and I’ve never managed to accomplish it. Clearly I’ll have to pick up the pace to do it this year.

Read 10 books: 1.5/10. Ten is probably laughable for you hardcore readers but I mostly read blogs and such these days so 10 books sounded doable to me. Book 1 for the year was The Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte.

Learn to use my Silhouette:As a lovely desk accent…yes.

I fully don’t expect to accomplish everything on the list but I’ve learned over the years of goal-setting that the dreaming/planning/scheming is just as much a part of the fun for me as actually completing the goals, so I’m excited to see what 2014 brings!

Woohoo, we are one quarter of the way done with 2013! How are you liking setting monthly goals so far?

Me? I’m totally loving it. A month is turning out to be exactly the right amount of time for me to stay excited and complete my goals while still giving me time to make adjustments or scrap a goal completely if I’m just not feeling it that month.

As I mentioned in January when I introduced my One Little Word for 2013, DETERMINATION, every month I’m pairing my one little word with four goals every month, themed around the phrase “This Month I’m Determined To…”, complete with a 6×6-inch inspiration card to keep my goals front & center throughout the month.

You can find templates for making your own monthly inspiration cards here.

This is what my March card looked like:

March 2013: Monthly Goal Update

Well, after the bust that was February, I’m happy to say that I kicked some goal-setting boo-tay in March. The tweaks I mentioned in my March post, like simplifying and making sure I choose goals that are want-to-dos rather than should-dos, totally paid off. Not only did I achieve all of my goals for the month but Adam and I were on such a roll that we managed to check off 6 items from our San Antonio bucket list instead of the two I’d set as a goal.

April 2013 Goal-Setting

So after my goal-setting success in March, what do I have planned for April?

Well, here’s a look at the digital version of my goals inspiration card for April. As always, I printed this card out and have it hanging near my desk in my office so I can be reminded of my goals every day.

This month is a little bit different as Adam will be traveling a bit this month for training. While we’re certainly no strangers to being apart, this will be the first time since we moved to San Antonio. But one of my “rules of military life survival” is that I choose to look at any time we spend apart as an opportunity for my own growth, so while I’m sure I’ll miss him, I’m also excited for the chance to have some new adventures on my own as well.

My One Little Word intention I set back at the start of the year for April was “grow” which is kind of hilarious since I had no idea at the time what April & May would have in store for us. That’s some serendipity, no? So I definitely aimed to pick goals for this month that fit with this idea of growth and I’ve also got an additional “to-do while Adam is away” list of mini goals as well. Should be fun! Once he gets home for good we’ll be in full-on moving mode so I figure I should enjoy this time before things get crazy.

Well that’s it for this April edition of 2013 Goal-Setting! How are you doing with your monthly goal-setting so far this year? Do you have anything excited planned for April? I’d love to hear what you’re up to so feel free to share in the comments below!

Wow, can you believe it’s already the second week of March? Holy cow, this year is flying! But the good news is it means it’s time for another round of goal-setting!

I mentioned in January when I introduced my One Little Word for 2013, DETERMINATION, that I planned to pair my word with four goals every month, themed around the phrase “This Month I’m Determined To…”, complete with a 6×6-inch inspiration card to keep my goals front & center throughout the month.

You can find templates for making your own monthly inspiration cards here.

This is what my February card looked like:

February 2013: Monthly Goal Update

Well, I’m not going to sugarcoat it, this month was a bit of a bust, haha. If I’m feeling generous I’d say I completed 1 out of 4 but even that’s a stretch.

1 & 2 definitely didn’t happen, although I did start #2 so that’s something! #3 would have happened but once we found out we were going to be moving, I decided it didn’t make much sense to do it now. Luckily our new place should have an even better space for it.

And #4 is the one I’d say I completed but not really – definitely didn’t achieve 2x a week but since we went on a big trip with lots of hiking, I figure time-wise it balances out. So maybe half a point?

Looking back I think there are two reasons for that:

1) After the high of January, I was a bit too ambitious with my goal-setting this month. There were quite a few big time consuming items on there that I’m not sure I really had time to commit to, especially not all at once. Not to mention that all of the goals were big enough that I’m not sure I really believed when I set them that I could achieve them.

2) I included too many shoulds instead of wants. I want my goals to be fun & inspiring not a re-hash of my regular to-do list.

So what am I planning to do differently in March? Here are a few things:

1) Simplify, simplify, simplify. I love big scary goals but I also want my monthly goals to be realistic and achievable. There’s nothing worse than feeling like why try before you even start. So I need to make sure to make more little goals that I can easily check off rather than ones that are too daunting to finish.

2) Track my progress. As part of her I Choose class at Big Picture Classes, Elise included some printable goal tracker sheets. I’m planning to print out one for each goal so I can track my tasks as well as my successes. I also think I’ll print out a different calendar just for goal planning/tracking.

3) Don’t be too hard on myself. I’ll admit when I first realized the end of February was here and I hadn’t accomplished any of my goals, my first thought was “I suck and I totally failed this month.” Really the answer is I didn’t, my priorities just ended up being different than I thought they would be. It happens. This is the great thing about setting monthly goals – it allows you to reassess and start fresh every month. Love that.

March 2013 Goal-Setting

So with that in mind, here’s the digital version of my goals inspiration card for March:

And here’s what it looks like hanging above my desk. I may end up moving it back towards my to-do list but for now I’m liking that it’s capturing my attention again simply by being in a different place. Sometimes you gotta just switch things up to make things happen!

I’m not going to lie, I had a tough time coming up with goals this month. For some reason I was feeling a lot of stress & anxiety over which ones to choose. Adam said he thought it was because we have a lot to do before our move but I think it’s more that I’m still trying to find that balance for big vs little goals and personal vs business goals.

Last month I felt my goals were too big/business-focused so this month I’m focusing on tasks I want to do just for me. Our big task this month is to start purging and sorting in preparation for our move since Adam will be gone for training a big chunk of April, so I tried to keep my other goals small and fun.

Considering as soon as I started putting together my inspiration card, I was already feeling motivated to start, I’d say I’m on the right track.

One Little Word 2013: February Assignment

I mentioned last month that one of the ways I’m staying in touch with my One Little Word this year is through Ali Edward’s One Little Word class at Big Picture Classes. This month’s assignment was to create a vision board based around your word. I’ll admit, I procrastinated horribly about doing it but once I started, it was actually fun!

Ali’s example was on a 16×20-inch canvas but I wanted something a little smaller so I went with a 14×18-inch canvas which seemed like a good size.

I decided to do this all paper as opposed to digital so I started by ripping a bunch of pages that had words/images I liked out of a stack of magazines (mostly Real Simple & one Oprah magazine). Then I started layering the big images first…

And kept adding bits until I had a design I liked…

Next came the glueing stage. I’d planned to use this Matte Medium I had on hand since it said it was good for collage on bottle and I figured it’d be similar to mod podge. Uh, no, totally wrong. This stuff didn’t work at all! All it did was wrinkle the paper and make it curl up so it wouldn’t stick at all.

This was also the time Adam chose to come home from work and my frustration must have been showing because his response to me was “Uh, I think this is why you do digital.” LOL!

I eventually resorted to a combination of a regular old gluestick and my trusty tape runner. Worked WAY better and didn’t wrinkle all the paper. The only downside was the tape runner is permanent so I couldn’t adjust things after I placed them, so there’s a few items not quite where I wanted them but I figure this isn’t really the kind of project where perfection is required.

Here’s what my finished DETERMINATION vision board looks like…

I did end up spraying it with a clear spray to seal it but since the edges of some of the small pieces are sticking up still, I may glue those down a little better. Overall I’m really happy with it! I love the bold colors and the mix of type – very me. Not sure where I’m going to put it yet but I’m thinking somewhere near my desk so I can see every day.

Well that’s it for this March edition of 2013 Goal-Setting! How’d your February goal-setting go? What do you have planned for March?

February is here which means it’s time for another round of monthly goal-setting!

I mentioned in January when I introduced my One Little Word for 2013, DETERMINATION, that I planned to pair my word with four goals every month, themed around the phrase “This Month I’m Determined To…”, complete with a 6×6-inch inspiration card to keep my goals front & center throughout the month.

You can find templates for making your own monthly inspiration cards here.

This is what my January card looked like:

And here it was printed and hanging all pretty like on my white board:

January 2013: Monthly Goal Update

So how did I do on my January goals?

Well I completed 3.5 of my 4 goals, which I’d say is pretty dang awesome for it being my first attempt! I met both of my work goals as well as my fun goal of hanging art in our master bedroom and dining room (including buying enough frames at once that the young male checker at Target asked if I was starting an art gallery, haha).

The one goal I didn’t completely succeed at was getting to the gym two times a week but that was more to do with choosing to prioritize some of the work related stuff over that goal so I’m hoping I’ll be able to fit it in better this month. I’m the kind of weirdo who loves the gym so for my own sanity, haha, this needs to be squeezed into my schedule better this month.

I can tell you that I have NO DOUBT that having this visual reminder of my goals every day as I checked my to-do list was a HUGE reason why I was so successful in January. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t actually expect it to work as well as it did but I think it did for three key reasons:

1) I posted them in a prominent place. My white board hangs in the hallway coming into our office loft area so every time I walk into the room, no matter what I’m doing, I have to walk by these goals. I’m very much a set-and-forget type of goal-setter normally so actually seeing my goals every day kept them on my mind.

2) Writing & printing them out makes them seem legit. It seems silly but it’s true. Having them printed out not only made my goals seem much more real but it also made me feel extra committed to them. Like they were more set-in-stone than if I just randomly thought about them.

3) It kept me accountable. The great thing about having your goals out in the open where you can easily see them? It means everyone else can see them too. Which means if you don’t accomplish them, you’re no longer the only person who will know. The last thing I wanted to have to do at the end of the month was take down that month’s goals card and admit I hadn’t been determined enough to someone other than myself.

The great thing about this was it kept Adam and I on the same page. When I announced my plans one weekend to work on hanging up art around the house, since it was one of my goals for the month, it didn’t come from completely out of the blue.

February 2013 Monthly Goal-Setting

So what made my Four Goals cut for February? Here’s a little look at the digital version of my card. I do have it printed & hanging already but the light here hasn’t cooperated lately (cloudy and blah) so you’re going to have to just imagine it hanging in the same spot as my January card above, haha.

Interestingly enough, my four goals for February fall into the same categories as last month: 2 work goals, 1 fun goal and 1 health goal. It’ll be interesting to see if this trend continues throughout the year.

I also changed up the wording of my workout goal to make it a bit more do-able. Really it should probably say something like, step away from the computer from time to time, haha, but I think this is a good do-able goal, even if it just means taking a quick walk around the neighborhood at lunch.

One Little Word 2013: January Assignment

One of the things I am incorporating into my monthly goal-setting this year are the assignments from Ali Edwards’ One Little Word class at Big Picture Classes. I hadn’t intended to sign up for the OLW class again this year since I’d done it the last two years, but since the prompts are all new this year, I thought I’d give it another go and so far I’m really liking it!

January’s prompt was to set 12 intentions for your word, 1 for each month of the year, by pairing your word with another to make a phrase. Seems right up my alley given my intention to pair my word with goals already.

Since my word for 2013 is determination, I decided to go with the phrase: “Determined To…”. The assignment was then to design a two-page spread showcasing one card for each month using your phrases and the We R Memory Keepers 9-photo page protectors (or something similar).

I started out by sketching out some (really rough & ugly, please ignore my sketch handwriting, haha) concepts for different cards:

I decided I liked the one on the top right the best so next I created my pages in Photoshop using the free 9 card Photoshop template Ali included with the class. I placed the two documents side by side so I could see how things would flow and so I could move papers and elements easily between the two.

Here’s a closer look at the digital version of the left page:

And the right page (which will actually the backside of the page protector once printed):

I’m not usually one to play with a lot of artsy products, even non-messy digital products, haha, but it was actually really fun to layer and play and see what I could come up with. I love that each card is like it’s own mini canvas.

All of the text on the cards are kind of like general mini-goals, or intentions if you will, which I plan to incorporate each month as part of my Four Monthly goals. So for example, February’s card says:

Determined to start: START on a big project that’s been on your to-do list for way too long.

I actually have two goals this month that fulfill that intention: redesigning the Nettio Designs website and hanging up our adventure gallery wall (which I’ve been collecting stuff for for like two years now, haha).

Since I’m obviously writing all of these intentions at the beginning of the year before I know what’s really going to happen each month, it’ll be interesting to see how these intentions play out. But I tried to keep them general enough that they can be applied in multiple ways.

Here’s a look at my printed cards in the page protectors. Front-side:

Back-side:

A closer look at one of the text cards:

More card details:

And one final look at the title card, which is actually made up of some digital kraft paper and three different digital brushes:

I haven’t decided completely how I’m going to store these pages. Right now I’m thinking I’m going to include them at the front of my Project Life album so I see them on a regular basis. But depending on how the assignments for Ali’s One Little Word class pan out, I may eventually move them into their own album. We’ll see.

Anyone else taking Ali’s One Little Word class this year? Did you set monthly goals in January? If so, how’d your goal-setting for Jan turn out? If you used the Monthly Goal-tracker inspiration cards like I did, did they help you keep your goals front & center? You know I love to chat so share your thoughts in the comments below.